Your thoughts on "ASP.NET MVC 2 in Action"

Question

Hey fellow ASP.NET MVC devs,

I'm looking to buy ASP.NET MVC 2 in Action but I wanted to see if anyones read it and if they would recommend it/or another ASP.NET MVC book. I've already read NerdDinner and I really enjoyed it but am hoping to extend my knowledge and read something else.

The description seems quite promising but as they say never judge a book by its cover.

Yes this question is subjective, but I feel this is the right place to ask. If the answers provided contradict eachother I'll gladly delete the question and I give you every right to aim and shoot that <close> button. I'm truly and honestly hoping for a unison answer "It's crap" or "Buy it".

Thanks,

Marko

Update
Thanks for all the answers, point taken - buy the book from Steven Sanderson instead. Thanks folks!

Answer 1

The links below are review by author + by commentators:

http://jeffreypalermo.com/blog/mvc-2-in-action-book-conducting-public-reviews/

http://davidhayden.com/blog/dave/archive/2010/07/12/AspNetMvc2InActionBookReview.aspx

http://www.amazon.com/ASP-NET-MVC-Action-Jeffrey-Palermo/dp/193518279X

http://geekswithblogs.net/AndrewSiemer/archive/2010/01/05/asp.net-mvc-2-in-action-conducting-a-public-review.aspx

For chapter by chapter breakup this link is best suited: http://elegantcode.com/2010/04/09/book-review-asp-net-mvc-in-action/

Answer 2

I read the first edition of the book and I liked it but it's not for the faint of hearth. They drill into some difficult topics and use/rely several third party tools without too much introduction to them that sometimes makes the book hard to follow.

However, if this is NOT your first ASP.NET MVC book it might be a good read as they do have some interesting material.

I personally liked better Steven Sanderson "Pro ASP.NET MVC", though. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1430228865/

Answer 3

I would definately get it. I have read the first one and not only does it show you in a very clear and understandable way around MVC, it also introduces some concepts useful to other kinds of projects too.

Apart from MVC itself got me up to speed on service locators, automapper, dependency injection, and had a great domain driven design intro.

The thing I like about the Manning books is that they are not too formal and its almost like a peer just showing you through something.

If anyone has read them both I would be interested to know if there is that must difference and benefit to reading the newer one after having read the first.

Answer 4

I would go with Steven Sanderson's book. It is all you need to really get going with MVC. It is clear, introduces each concept well and shows exactly how to develop in MVC, and how to think in MVC.